UEFA Threatens to Move Euro 2020 Final to Budapest

DBasia.news – UEFA has opened up the possibility of moving the location of the EURO 2020 final match from London, England, to Budapest, Hungary.

As is known, the Euro 2020 finals will be held in 11 different countries. However, England, which was one of the hosts, was given the honor of holding all the semi-finals to the final.

However, this privilege is in danger of being revoked. This is related to the policy of the British government in responding to the rising number of positive cases of the corona virus.

The UK government does implement strict travel restrictions for immigrants from abroad. They are required to undergo quarantine for 10 days.

UEFA wants supporters of participating teams that appear in the semifinals to the finals not to have to implement this policy. While the British government only gives exceptions to people from countries that are included in the green list.

UEFA is currently in talks with the British government to find the best solution. They want the final match to run smoothly with Wembley Stadium attended by 50 percent of the total seating capacity.

“Currently, we are in discussions with local authorities to try to allow fans of the participating teams to attend matches, using rigorous testing and the bubble concept which means their stay in England will be less than 24 hours and their movement will be restricted to transport and places where they are only allowed to go to,” read a UEFA statement.

“We understand the pressure the Government is facing and look forward to reaching a satisfactory conclusion from our discussions on this matter. There are always contingency plans but we are confident that the final week will be in London.”

Interestingly, UEFA also faced a similar problem when it wanted to move the 2020-2021 Champions League final to Wembley from Istanbul. But at that time the British government refused to fulfill the wishes of the European Football Confederation.

In the end, UEFA moved the Champions League final to Portugal. Though two English teams met in the top party.

It is not impossible that the negotiations between UEFA and the British government have again reached a dead end. Moreover, Queen Elizabeth’s country has not been fully able to control the spread of the corona virus.

If it doesn’t take place at Wembley, UEFA already has a number of alternative venue options. Ferenc Puskas Stadium in Budapest, Hungary, became one of the strongest candidates.

UEFA has a mature consideration regarding this matter. One of them is of course the Hungarian government’s policy of allowing stadiums to be opened at maximum capacity.

Hungary is the only host that can implement it. Ferenc Puskas Stadium was packed with 68,000 spectators when Hungary hosted Portugal in their inaugural Group F match.

The Hungarian government does not implement a quarantine policy for immigrants. Supporters are only required to have an immunity card from Hungary or a negative PCR test within the last 72 hours before the match.

Holding the final in a full stadium is certainly a UEFA dream. This will at least leave a good impression and satisfy the sponsors.